One of those markets where millions trade in billions every day and which is totally virtual with no physical address is called the Forex or foreign exchange market which carries out currency trading to the tune of millions and billions every day. Currency trading is carried out by all sorts of people in all parts of the world and can include investors, brokers, banks, trade houses, mutual fund companies, money transfer services and more. And this is one of the only markets in the world that is open 24 x 7.
People carry out currency trading for a variety of reasons all of which can be different. A student in Australia may need foreign currency to pay his boarding, lodging and education fees in London while a person from Australia may need to receive money from his family in America. For all you know it may be a normal Australian family looking to go for a holiday to Egypt and looking for foreign currency for their holiday trip. A major part of this market is also made up of brokers who are there to earn commission on the currency trade. A large part of this market also consists of brokers who earn commission on currency trading and make it a bit easier for the common man to trade in this large virtual market.
The clear history of how currency trade started is unknown. It is said that the whole concept of currency trade was brought about by the Babylonians. Babylonians are thought to be the pioneers of paper money. They started what was known as an IOU system by modifying the barter system of trade. Instead of another product (s) in exchange of a product people started handing out IOU’s that could be redeemed after a predefined period. These IOU’s started changing hands for other IOU’s or products and that is how, supposedly, currency trade began.
People also trade in currency as a business and work to earn profits. They buy the currency when it is ast a lower price and then sell it at a higher price. If conditions are favorable then currencies are also bought at high prices and sold at even higher. The currency trading market is huge and each person is there due to his own reasons.